Cabbage Soup

Cabbage/Potato Soup

Here's one more soup recipe to end off the week.  This is a cabbage soup similar to the one I posted earlier in the week.  The main difference between the two soups is that there are more potatoes in this recipe and no beets.  Both are yummy, yet they taste so different.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to making a soup.  Be creative and add your favourite ingredients.  If you don't have an ingredient in your refrigerator, don't fret.  Add something else.  Remember, you can make a meal out of a hearty soup or a starter out of a consommé.  If you don't have time to chop up all the vegetables, throw in some bigger pieces and puree them with a hand blender at the end.

I think soups are an encouraging and healthy way of eating more vegetables.  Although nutrients are lost when vegetables are boiled, I believe you're still getting a good part of the nutrients.  After all, you're not throwing out the water.  The nutrients are in the soup's liquids.

French Onion Soup

Do you crave soup on a cold spring day?

French Onion Soup

I just recently returned home to Toronto after 2 weeks in the sunshine state.  Florida was so nice and warm.  Lots of wind, but that's just how I like it on the beach.  I got a fabulous tan without sweating!

While away, the weather at home was incredible.  It even got as high as 28C.  Hot! Hot! Hot! is all I heard.  Since returning home, the weather is the same as when I left. Cold! Cold! Cold!

Now that I'm back home, it's freezing and it's time to cook again, however, I haven't gone grocery shopping yet.  What can I make with the bag of potatoes and onions in my cellar?  French onion soup.  I've even got Ace crackers in the pantry and some Swiss Emmenthal Cheese in the refrigerator which is a staple in our home.

This soup can also be made with Gruyere Cheese.

Veal Stew With Green Beans & Potatoes

Veal Stew with Green Beans & Potatoes

This stew is one of the first recipes my Mom taught me how to cook.  She grew up on a farm in northern Greece and I'm sure they planted green beans galore to feed their big families.  Our culture is known for eating plenty of beans and legumes.

This recipe will fill a lot of plates.  As long as the meat and beans were never previously frozen, this green bean stew can be frozen and eaten at a later date.  It's also one of those meals that tastes better the next day.

Try replacing the potatoes with yams.  (Remember yams cook a lot faster than potatoes, so add them to the stew approximately 5 to 10 minutes before completion).

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie

As a teenager in Toronto, I used to babysit a little French girl from Montreal.  Zoe loved Shepherd's Pie so much that her mother always made it for us on babysitting nights. This was a meal that Zoe and I enjoyed together ever so much.  Zoe insisted that we eat it with red pickled beets on the side.  This little 5 year old knew what she was talking about!

I never thought to ask her mother for the recipe and wish I had so that I could make the same meal for my 2 little girls.  Nevertheless, this didn't stop me.  Based on remembering the basic ingredients of ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes, I put together a recipe of my own that's become a classic in our home today.

If there's a hunter in your family, try replacing the ground beef with ground deer.  It's so tasty!

This recipe is very simple and can be frozen in a sealable glass container and reheated at a later date.  I always used to make two and freeze one that I could pull out of the freezer after a day with my family on the ski slopes.